New Nonprofit Geothermal Association Launched

WASHINGTON
- A new nonprofit trade association has joined the HVACR world. The nonprofit
trade association Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO) is the reincarnation
of the former Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, a government/industry
partnership that was primarily aimed at utility support for demand-side energy
conservation programs during the 1990s.

“With recent political upheavals in Washington, D.C., and the growth of
geothermal heat pump installations in the United States to approximately
100,000 units per year,” said ClimateMaster Inc. President and GEO
Chairman Dan Ellis, “major equipment manufacturers, distributors, and utilities
saw the need to refocus Consortium activities toward industry
advocacy.”

“The current economic and political environment will have significant impacts
on the geothermal heat pump industry for the foreseeable future,” said
WaterFurnace International President Tom Huntington. “We must aggressively
educate our elected and professional officials about the benefits of geothermal
heat pumps as they consider renewable energy legislation and regulatory
policies.”

Other activities of the organization will include partnerships to form
strategic alliances with allied organizations, institutions, and agencies to
pursue benefits for the industry; public outreach and education efforts,
including GeoExchange® branding and a public awareness campaign; and actively
working with the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association and other
allied organizations to promote codes and standards for geothermal heat pump
installation training, certification, and accreditation.

GEO membership is open to all companies, businesses, commercial and nonprofit
organizational entities involved in the geothermal heat pump
industry.

For more information about GEO, go to www.geoexchange.org or call 888-255-4436.

Publication date: 01/31/2011

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